In fact, my father-in-law granted me permission to marry her only if I could support her "in the manner to which she had become accustomed." That basically meant granting her every request, including building a new home and providing free access to my -- er, our -- checkbook.

Another thing at the top of her aspirations: a hydraulic cylinder.

File photo • The Bay City Times

Our question again this week: "What are you doing to lower your utility bills this winter?"

With a hydraulic cylinder, she said, you can do anything. The smooth, raw power and majesty of the cylinder can move, lift or crush the heaviest objects. It's quiet, yet powerful. (It must have reminded her of me.)

The hydraulic cylinder also is practical. One thing it does extremely well is split wood.
And that's what we've been doing to hopefully reduce our utility costs during the cold months.

Our question last week was: "What are you doing to lower your utility bills this winter?"

With our electric bill -- which includes heat -- taking a sudden spike, we decided the wood-burning stove would have to be fired up more frequently this winter.

After cutting up several fallen trees with a chain saw, I dreaded the thought of taking an ax to all those logs. Sure, it would be great exercise, and I could stand to drop a few pounds. But that way?

My wife, her wish of a hydraulic cylinder still unfulfilled, mentioned a friend who had a hydraulic wood splitter and suggested -- more strongly the third and fourth times -- that I call him. (You know what a motivator procrastination can be!)

So I finally did.

After a brief demonstration, we were ready to begin.

The log-splitter works like this: You place the log in a cradle on the machine, then get -- and keep -- your hands and other body parts out of the way. Pull the lever, and a hydraulic pump powered by a gasoline engine rams a sharp wedge into the log with enough pressure to split the log as easily as a hot knife slices through butter.

My youngest son and I lined up the logs, and one by one, I put each log in the cradle. Then my son pulled the lever.

Cr-r-r-r-a-a-ack!

The wedge went through the knottiest and largest of logs with ease. We sliced logs for hours on end over the course of several days.

Then it came time for the back-breaking part -- stacking the wood. How did that pile of split logs get so large?

This would be a "fun" job for my sons, I thought.

I thought wrong. After stacking much of the wood with some help from my youngest son, my oldest son finished the job, placing the logs carefully on top of the tarp that had been set up to protect them from the elements.

Of course, he ended up stacking them again, this time properly -- under the tarp.
Now only one problem remains. Much of the wood is still too green to burn.

It may be a little chillier inside the house this winter after all, but we should have plenty of seasoned wood to help warm the house and reduce our utility bills next year -- thanks to the power and majesty of the remarkable hydraulic cylinder.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

Some readers have already weighed in on what they're doing to lower their utility bills this winter.

But what are you doing? To give you and others a chance to respond, we're continuing with our same question this week.

Post your response under "Post a comment," and it could be included in next Sunday's Chronicle HomeFront section.

Don't forget to include your initials and hometown, township or village.

Have a question you would like our readers to answer? Post it under "Post a comment" or send an e-mail.